


Safe as Houses

by lucdarling



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Billy Hargrove & Maxine "Max" Mayfield Have a Good Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Multi, Neil Hargrove is His Own Warning, Polyamory, Protective Billy Hargrove
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:42:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29557209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucdarling/pseuds/lucdarling
Summary: Billy knows they can't stay, not after what happened. So he bundles them into the Camaro and drives out of town to the only people he feels safe around. It'll be a better place to break the news, surrounded by people who care about them.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, Jonathan Byers & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Jonathan Byers/Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Jonathan Byers/Steve Harrington/Nancy Wheeler, Maxine "Max" Mayfield & Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington & Maxine "Max" Mayfield
Comments: 11
Kudos: 50





	Safe as Houses

**Author's Note:**

> I tried, again, for multiple POV instead of singular. Someone poke me next time so I don't, it was difficult. I don't know what came first, me hearing the song this is titled after or thinking of the title and then hearing the song by The Weepies.This is polyamorous teens (young 20s, technically) in the background but they also broke into their own groupings so I tagged it for the whole and the permutations.
> 
> Hope you like this story, please let me know in the comment box.

The door opens and Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan look up as one. Anyone delivering food or a package wouldn’t have a key to the apartment, but the one person who does lives in Hawkins. It’s late-early and Jonathan's already called dibs on driving down them all to meet him tomorrow at a diner outside of their hometown.

Billy shuffles across the threshold slowly, hand not on the doorknob held to his ribs. His knuckles are already dark, bruises forming. He’s still in his mechanic’s jumpsuit, even though he should have gotten off work hours ago.

“Did you drive here, man?” Steve is the first to ask, getting up from the couch. Jonathan and Nancy aren’t far behind him.

“Couldn’t stay,” Billy says roughly. His voice is gravel and he stands in front of the wall, between them and someone else. Steve raises an eyebrow and Billy shakes his head slightly. None of them say her name.

“That’s two hours in the car with the way you drive,” Jonathan chuckles and it’s only a little forced. “I think we got some frozen peas or something for your hand, hang on. Did you eat dinner yet?”

Billy shakes his head again while Nancy and Steve come a little closer, wary like he's a cornered animal.

“You want to sit down?” Nancy checks, careful. Her eyes are wide, worried as they take in Billy’s bruised face, the blood on his hairline.

“Here,” Jonathan returns with an opened package of frozen corn, held closed with a rubber band. “I think it’s all we got for an ice pack.”

“It’s fine,” Billy says. He looks down at it in his hand, thick fingers clutching it.

“Works better if it’s on your wounds,” Steve says. Nancy is still looking oh so careful, like she can see under his clothes if she stares hard enough. Normally Billy would make a joke about x-ray vision but he’s exhausted. His ribs hurt.

“I need to clean up,” Max’s voice is very small and comes from behind Billy’s bulk.

“Shit, yeah.” Billy sighs and moves to the side. Max slides out from behind him, staying close as the other three look at her. “Don’t use all the hot water, they have to pay for it all right?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Steve jumps in. “Use as much water as you want. The landlord pays for it, not us.” He gives a tight smile that Max doesn’t see, keeping her face down, hidden behind her hair but they can imagine what brought the siblings to their doorstep at this time of night.

Billy leans against the wall with a muffled groan trapped behind his teeth. He waves Max on when she spins on a heel to look at him.

“I’m fine, shitbird. Go get cleaned up first. Steve can help me just fine, doesn’t he make a pretty nurse?”

Max huffs, not a laugh but something better than the silence and small voice she had earlier. Nancy smiles at her despite the red mark on her cheek and how she pulls the sleeves of Billy’s Metallica hoodie over her wrists self-consciously.

Someone bangs on the door, a loud repeated sound. Billy tenses immediately, drawing himself up even as a wince of pain crosses his face. Max makes a beeline for Jonathan, wrapping her arms around his waist. He looks surprised but holds her close.

Nancy and Steve look at each other and back at the door. The pounding pauses, and then starts up again.

“Can’t be,” Billy mutters. “Doesn’t know where you live, I swear.”

“I know, Bill.” Steve reassures him as Nancy goes cautiously to the door. Jonathan turns his body, putting himself between Max and the door.

“Come on, dingus. I got all the way to the train before I realized I left my purse. I want to get home sometime before sunrise!” Robin’s voice comes through loud and clear through the door.

They all breathe a sigh of relief and Nancy unhooks the chain, opens the door.

Robin doesn’t wait, stomping into the apartment and heading right to the end table to the left of the couch where a purse sits. It’s only when she turns around that she realizes the apartment is full and they’re all standing there.

“Uh hey, didn’t see you there.” Robin’s eyebrows raise. “Isn’t it a little late for a booty call from Hawkins? There’s meatheads who live closer if that’s really what you want.”

“Not a good time, Rob.” Steve says warningly. He steps further into Robin’s line of sight as Nancy goes to Billy, hands fluttering as she tries to see the bruises and also place the melting corn somewhere useful.

“He got in a fight and drove over two hours just to have you patch him up?” Robin’s voice doesn’t hide her incredulity. Neither does her expression. “You know dude, there are first aid kits you can buy at the drugstore.”

“Robin,” Nancy says, looking up at her with a mulish expression. “This isn’t the time to air your issues. Maybe you should go home. You know, like you were planning on doing.”

“And what if he,” she jerks a thumb at Billy. “What if he starts thinking Steve looks punchable again? You really gonna hold him back? His bicep is the size of your head.”

Steve sighs. “Not helping, Rob. It’s in the past, and it would stay there if you would stop bringing it up.”

“Excuse me for caring.” Robin snaps back. She looks hurt and Steve only glares back at her, anger clear in the set of his jaw.

Nancy is pale, fists clenched like she wants to swing and only needs one more word. Billy wants to watch her, since Robin has always rubbed him wrong. Her teasing often lands on the harsh side, and he or Jonathan have usually been the ones left propping up Steve when he can’t shake her words off.

“Right, I’m gonna go,” Robin announces unnecessarily. She picks up her purse and wobbles out. That’s when it registers in Billy’s mind that the young woman is drunk but he can’t find it in him to care that much.

The door shuts behind Robin with a final sound. Nancy doesn’t waste any time in locking it and putting the chain back on as her footsteps stumble down the hallway towards the elevator.

Billy hasn’t moved from where he’s propped against the wall and Max shows no sign of leaving Jonathan’s hug. He’s got his arms looped around her like when he hugs Will, one hand petting her red hair gently.

Nancy opens and then shuts her mouth. She deflates slowly and Billy gives her a wink with his good eye. She shoots him a tiny smile as Steve speaks.

“I’ll talk to her tomorrow. I’m sorry.” He says to all of them, scratching at his head. Steve turns to Max, tilting his head to look at her under Jonathan’s arm. “No hug for me? I’m hurt, kid.” He jokes.

“Hey shitbird,” Billy draws her attention before she can reply. “Go get cleaned up in the bathroom.”

“Can Jon stay?” Max’s voice is quiet.

“I think it’s better if Nancy goes with you,” Billy says carefully. “She’ll stay the whole time.” His blue eyes cut to the young woman, who nods in agreement.

Slowly, Max unwinds her arms from around Jonathan and follows Nancy to the bathroom. As soon as the door shuts behind the two of them, Billy swears and slides down the wall to the floor like a puppet with his strings cut.

“The hell happened?” Steve and Jonathan are at his side, hands running over him gently.

“I got home late, had to wait for a client to pick up their car. He was-” Billy hisses when Steve’s hands move over his ribs. “Yeah, they’re bruised. I know what cracked feels like, don’t even need to tape ‘em up.”

“Max?”

Billy sighs and looks older than his actual age of 21. “He was on top of her, she was screaming.” His fist clenches as Steve scowls. “Pulled him off, drunk but he still got a few good licks in. Left him knocked out on the floor, grabbed her and drove up here.”

“You did good, Billy.” Jonathan says firmly. He leans forward, presses a careful kiss to his temple. “Now Steve and I are gonna help you to the couch. It’s gonna hurt.”

Billy grunts and his teeth bite into his bottom lip as he’s hauled up. Steve’s arm around his shoulders and Jonathan’s around his waist, the three take careful steps around the coffee table and settle him onto the soft cushions. Steve takes a seat first and Billy leans against him, eyes closing as his hair is played with by long fingers even if it’s mostly happening so Steve can find the cut.

Jonathan stops, halfway between the couch and the kitchen tile with the melted bag of frozen corn in his hand as Nancy comes out of the bathroom, face pale and angry.

“Your father, Billy, deserves to be in prison.”

All the energy leaves the room at Nancy’s statement. Billy turns his face into Steve’s stomach, hiding his face. Steve puts a hand on his upper back, rubbing it soothingly. 

Jonathan stumbles at the words. He sets the corn into the freezer gently and spies a bag of frozen peas in the depths of the space, behind some tupperware from Mrs. Wheeler. He wraps it in a handful of paper towels.

Nancy’s hands twist together as she sits on the couch by Billy’s feet. “It wasn’t fully, just a finger she thinks.”

“Still rape,” Jonathan comments quietly, coming to stand behind Nancy. She leans into him as he tosses the vegetables to Billy. He and Steve both reach out to catch it, Steve getting it first. He sets it on Billy’s face with a sad frown.

Billy groans and Steve pets his upper arm. “Hey, you did good, remember? You got Max out of there as soon as you knew, baby. I mean, where was Susan in all this?”

“Oh, right.” Billy says and he sounds exhausted. “I thought she took off like my mom did but uh.” He swallows and his throat clicks. “Last week my dad got real chatty when he was drunk, started going on about wives and trust and teaching them.”

He paused, looked toward the closed bathroom door.

“Max is fine, you can’t hear anything in there with the fan going.” Nancy assured. “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay too.”

“He remembers pushing her down the stairs,” Billy says hollowly. “But when he woke up the next morning, there was no body.”

“We would have come back sooner if you needed us,” Jonathan’s voice isn’t a censure but Billy still flinches.

“Nah, you guys were in the middle of finals. It’s fine. I had it handled.”

“Finals?” Nancy repeats. “Billy, that was over a month ago!”

“What were you gonna do, Nancy Drew?” Billy’s nickname draws a flicker of a smile to her face. “Can’t do nothing. Cops don’t do shit.”

“Hopper-” Steve starts and puts a hand over his mouth, bites back the rest of whatever he was going to say.

“Yeah, he might have done something. Too little, too late.” 

Steve adds, “More like he wouldn’t even be in Hawkins any longer, if he followed your mom out of town like we all knew he would.” He nods to Jonathan who gives a sheepish grin.

Nancy reaches up to thread her fingers with Jonathan’s hand resting on her shoulder. “It’s late and we should probably get some sleep. Not saying things will look better in the morning but it’ll be a fresh start?” She sounds hopeful.

The bathroom door opens and presses pause on any of them speaking.

“Hey,” Billy says into the air, not lifting his head from Steve’s lap to greet her.

Max inches into the room, dressed in clothes from Nancy’s side of the shared dresser. Steve is pretty sure the oversized t-shirt used to be his or Jonathan’s though, faded from too many washes to be able to read the band name.

“Hey.” She greets them quietly, arms hanging at her sides.

“Do you want the spare room?” Nancy questions softly. “Or food? We have some lasagna my mom made in the fridge, won’t take long to heat up.”

Max shakes her head. “Spare room is fine.”

“There’s blankets and pillows in there, sheets are clean.” Steve tells her even as he looks at Billy’s face. “It locks from the inside, if you need.”

“Okay, thanks,” Max says and shuts the door behind her. She doesn’t lock the door.

“Can we fit four in the bed?” Jonathan asks the question they’re all thinking. They don’t sleep together very often, thanks to distance and work schedules. Finding a bed large enough for three grown men and a woman is another trip entirely but they’ve made it work in the past. With Billy’s injuries though, it doesn’t seem like the best idea.

“I can take the couch,” Steve offers before anyone else can speak up.

“Nah, just leave me here. Look, I’m already comfortable.” Billy tries to smile at them. It doesn’t reach his eyes.

“Don’t put on a mask,” Nancy asks, hand reaching over to hold Billy’s in both her own. “You get the bed, you’re hurt. We can probably fit if the rest of us lay on our side.” She gives a shrug and looks at Steve, who unerringly ends up flat on his back before morning.

He gives a guilty grin. “Just push me off the bed if I start snoring.”

Jonathan laughs at that. “Yeah okay, let’s give it a shot.” It takes all three of them to maneuver Billy up. Steve accompanies him to the bathroom, sitting him on the closed toilet lid to wipe away dried blood and take care of his hands. Jonathan and Nancy clean up from dinner and check the locks twice, then stare at the empty bed.

“We’ll fit?” Nancy asks, voice muffled where she’s pressed her face into Jonathan’s neck.

“Yeah, it’ll be okay.” Jonathan tells her. He knows that’s not what she’s really asking. She leans up on her toes to kiss him, something normal in a night that’s gone very off-kilter.

“Hey now,” Billy teases them. “You’re supposed to tell a guy when you start putting on a show.” Some of his curls are damp and he’s shirtless, only a pair of Steve’s sweatpants slung low and showcasing the v of his hips when he bends to pull back the covers.

“Ask for help, idiot,” Nancy flies to the other side of the bed to help. “Did you take anything for the pain?”

“Yeah,” Billy says, carefully lying down and sighing once he’s fully prone. He closes his eyes. “Steve was a regular mother hen.”

Nancy goes to wash her face and complete the rest of her nightly routine once it seems like Billy isn’t going to move. The faint snores give it away.

Jonathan crawls on Billy’s left side, since he doesn’t move in the night. Nancy and Steve take Billy’s right, Nancy in Steve’s arms for a cuddle. He kisses her head, then her nose.

“Well, he’s here at least.” Steve comments. Nancy blinks back tears and curls closer.

“Good night,” Jonathan tells them. They echo it, Billy’s snores a punctuation that makes all of them chuckle.

Sleep comes quickly, and is disrupted just as fast by a piercing scream hours later.

Billy shoots up at the same time as Steve and Jonathan, yelping as his ribs protest.

Nancy stirs as Max’s cries die down to muffled whimpers, still audible through the thin walls.

“Stay in bed,” Jonathan tells Billy, hand on his shoulder pushing him to lie down. “I’ll go.”

“No,” Nancy says and breaks Steve’s loose hold around her waist. “I’ll go, probably stay there with her until breakfast is ready if she’ll let me. Max might feel better with someone at her back.”

“If she doesn’t,” Steve doesn’t finish voicing the thought.

“Then I’ll see you soon, hmm?” Nancy hums and squeezes his hand. She kisses Billy then Jonathan, and leaves the room.

“Max?” Nancy taps on the door once, twice. “I’m going to come in, is that okay?”

She hears the bedsheets rustle as Max shifts and the younger girl agrees. Nancy slips in before she can change her mind.

“Did you have a nightmare?” Nancy is out of practice at this. She moved out of her childhood home before Holly had stopped running to their mother for everything and Mike had always wanted to solve his problems on his own.

Max nods, scoots over as Nancy takes a seat on the edge of the bed. “I’m fine,” she says, wiping at her face. “It was just a dream.”

“It’s okay if it wasn’t,” Nancy says cautiously. Her hands rub over her thighs, unsure of what to do or where to be. She doesn’t want to touch Max without permission, not now. “You can talk about it if you want, but I thought maybe you’d like if I stayed here with you? The bed is big enough, you won’t even know I’m here.”

Max’s head shoots up. Her eyes are very wide, wet in the dim light from the light outside.

“Yeah,” Max agrees, voice cracking. “That would be okay.” She rolls over in the large bed, closer to the wall. Nancy slips in between the sheets, between Max and the door.

“Your brother’s gonna be okay, you know that, right?” Nancy asks her, hushed.

“Of course he is,” Max scoffs. It doesn’t have the same fire behind it as when she’s moments away from telling Nancy’s little brother in what new way he’s being an idiot, but she pretends not to notice. “He’s always fine.”

That seems to be the last straw, and Max huddles into Nancy as she cries. Nancy holds her close, stroking her tangled hair that’s still not fully dried from the earlier shower. She whispers platitudes and hopes they’ll come true.

“You’ll be okay, everything is gonna be fine. You’re so strong, Max, you didn’t do anything wrong. You’re a wonderful girl and it will all be alright one day.” Max’s weight on her left side grows heavier as she slips into sleep. Nancy follows soon after, hand still resting on Max’s head.

Steve wakes with a start, groaning as he turns his head and gets the sun right in his eyes. He looks over at Billy, still asleep on his back. He smacks his lips as Steve watches and presses his blond head further into the pillow in a fruitless effort to block the sun.

Jonathan’s side of the bed is empty but Steve already knows he’s in the kitchen. He and Nancy have been effectively banned from the kitchen before caffeine, thanks to a small dorm room fire that Nancy still swears was an accident.

Nancy pokes her head in and smiles at Steve. “You awake, sleepyhead? It’s nearly 10.”

“Really?” Steve asks, astonished. He doesn’t remember the last time he slept that late but then remembers how late-early he went to sleep and he reckons it makes sense.

“See if Billy can sit at the table, or if we need to bring breakfast in bed.” Nancy bites her lip and lowers her voice. “Not to put him on the spot but Max probably needs to see him.”

“His bruises look worse,” Steve points out. The side of Billy’s face is mottled red and blue, his curls matted. He can’t imagine getting him sitting upright is going to be pleasant.

Nancy shrugs. “Max will understand that. She was pretty worried last night.”

Steve waves off the rest of her words and starts to rouse Billy, gently.

“Hey,” Steve says quietly. “You gonna wake up or just lay there like Sleeping Beauty?”

“F’off,” Billy grumbles. “I’ll get up.”

“Not if it hurts too much.” Steve frowns and Billy cracks open an eye.

“Nah, I heard something about pancakes?”

“Been a while since Jon made breakfast for you, huh?”

Billy sighs and tries to sit up. It’s a slow process and his white teeth have sunk into his bottom lip by the time he’s upright with Steve’s arm bracing him.

“You gonna put on a shirt?” Steve asks, eyes taking in the colors decorating Billy’s ribs and stomach. The scars are the pink of new flesh even after almost four years. “Not to ever suggest that Nancy or Max are delicate flowers, because I like my balls where they are.”

Billy laughs and winces immediately after. “I like your balls where they are too.” He gives a lascivious wink and Steve grins.

“Maybe when you’re feeling better, tiger.” They get Billy standing without too much trouble or groaning.

“After breakfast then?” Billy is forever hopeful and forever horny. It wouldn’t be the first time he got laid while bruised.

Steve shrugs and opens the door. “See what Jon and Nancy want to do. Today was supposed to be with you, remember?” He leans forward, kissing Billy’s lips. They only pull away when Billy makes a sound and Steve can’t tell if it’s in pleasure or pain.

“Better to be up here rather than one of those halfway towns.”

“Anything is better than one of those towns,” Jonathan calls out, clearly listening in even as he stands at the stove. “That last one, it was practically in Ohio!”

Nancy wrinkles her nose. “Paper mill town, won’t be making that mistake again. I thought I’d have that smell burned into my nostrils the rest of the week.”

“Halfway town?” Max asks, eyebrow raised.

“You know we’ve been seeing your brother for a while now, right?” Nancy says, knife slicing down the middle of the orange and handing half to Max for juicing.

“I’m not dumb.” Max says, deadpan. She fends off Billy’s hand coming up to slap the back of her head with the ease of long practice.

“‘Course not,” Jonathan contributes. “So obviously none of us wanted rumors back in Hawkins, and since Nancy and I spend most of the year in Chicago-”

“You guys met up in random little towns between the two where no one knew you. Huh.” Max thinks on it, throws the orange rind into the trash. “Pretty smart, I’m impressed.”

“What I always wanted,” Billy says dryly, lowering himself with careful movements into a seat at the kitchen table. “Your approval.”

Max sticks her tongue out at him and Billy mirrors the expression right back. Jonathan sets the plate of pancakes on the table and pulls out Nancy’s chair. 

“We’re not going to fit,” Nancy points out as she takes her seat. “There’s five of us but four chairs.”

“Sure we will!” Steve says with a big grin, and pulls Jonathan into his lap ignoring his protests.

The table goes quiet as the food is sorted out and everyone takes their first few bites.

“Not that I’m feeling unappreciated, since I got to sleep next to your brother last night.” Steve says after he’s swallowed a bite of pancake. “But you got a hug from Jon last night and cuddled our girlfriend. What do I get from you, Max? I thought we had something special, going into those tunnels all those years ago and stopping Dustin from electrocuting himself last summer!”

“You’re right,” Max agrees dryly. “Keeping Dustin safe is definitely a two person job. I’ll sit next to you on the couch when you put on a movie, before you excuse yourself to go have sex. That enough Max time for you?”

Nancy’s mouth falls open at her matter of fact tone. Jonathan and Billy trade grins across the table.

“Sounds swell,” Steve winks and Max laughs. “You can stand in for all the nerds, since I like you the most.” He turns to Jonathan. “Don’t tell your brother, he still thinks he’s the favorite.”

The rest of the conversation is similarly light-hearted, no one mentioning the siblings’ bruises or why Billy is the last to leave the table with Jonathan’s arm for support after taking more painkillers.

“C’mere,” Billy orders Max, head jerking to the couch. “I gotta talk to you.”

Max sits on the couch, nerves written on her face. “I don’t want to press charges,” she speaks first, quickly. “He was drunk and it wasn’t that bad.”

Billy sighs heavily. “Not what I need to talk about, Max. But uh, I guess that’s good to know.” His face grows serious as he meets her eyes. “Though it was that bad, just because he didn’t get a chance to go all the way.”

Max shrugs and looks down, fingers picking at the throw blanket over the back of the couch.

“No listen,” Billy says. His hand settles over hers, stopping the movement. “It was that bad. If you want to press charges, do it. I mean, we kinda ruined evidence with the shower and all but you’re eighteen, right?”

“Next week’s my birthday.” Max says softly. “Not eighteen yet.”

“Fuck,” Billy mutters and Jonathan echoes it, a beat behind him. “Okay, still legally a child. That will make things easier, if you want to do that. Only if you want.”

“What about you?” Max’s concern is obvious.

“Me?” Billy utters, surprised. He rubs a hand over his face. “Don’t worry about me, Max. I’m fine.”

She reaches out to poke a bruise on his arm and he flinches back. Max’s hand hovers in the air between them.

“Fine, like you always are.” She shifts, legs moving to cross one ankle over the other as her feet rest on the coffee table next to Billy’s bare feet. “I’m not pressing charges. I can move into Mike’s basement for the week, then I’ll be an adult and never have to see him again. Get my stuff when he’s at work, I guess.”

“Or live with me,” Steve adds. He comes over to lean over the couch, looking between the two of them. “Not to uh, interrupt but-”

“Yeah, that was the original plan.” Billy tells Max with a smile that only turns up the corners of his thin lips. “Soon as you turned eighteen so Neil can’t accuse me of kidnapping a child. I was going to get you out.” His expression turns rueful. “I’m sorry you got hurt first.”

Max shrugs, awkward. She doesn’t want to say it’s okay, because it’s not and she’s still sort of sore for reasons that will make her scream if Max spends any time thinking about why so.

“Living with Steve, huh? I think I could manage that.” A sarcastic comment she can easily manage.

“See you through the rest of high school, then we could take a road trip back to California.” Billy says breezily, like it’s not the best thing Max has heard. “Get you put up in a dorm room, those letters must be coming in any day now, right?”

“San Diego and Santa Cruz already said yes, with partial scholarships,” Max admits and Steve whoops, loud enough to draw Nancy and Jonathan’s attention from where they sit at the kitchen table.

“You apply to the whole UC system, then?” Billy asks, a smile lurking in the upturned corners of his mouth.

“No!” Max denies hotly. “Just the ones near the ocean.”

Billy’s laughter, even if he has to hold his ribs, is the best thing she’s heard. It dies off with a wince and Max rolls her eyes.

“Okay, if that’s not what we’re talking about…” She trails off, raising an eyebrow.

Billy gnaws at his lip as he stares behind Max’s head but not directly at her.

“Have you seen your mom lately?” He asks, and his voice is odd. Max hasn’t heard him sound like this before.

Max shakes her head. “No, she said she might be working the night shift or something last month. Before she bought me clothes for summer. I stay late at school with softball and robotics. We’re just ships passing in the night, I think Dustin said.”

“Yeah,” Billy reaches out to take hold of Max’s hand in his own larger one. His fingers wrap around her palm gently. “I don’t think that’s the case, Max.”

“What do you mean?” Max knows what he’s saying, but she needs to hear it.

Billy scratches at his neck with his free hand. “There’s not an easy way to say it.”

“Tell me! Stop being a pussy about it.” Max spits at him. She’s shaking, nerves on fire with anticipation.

“Your mom is gone, Maxine.” Billy gets the words out, sounding choked. The hair on the back of her arms rises as he explains in a too calm voice. “Neil pushed her down the stairs. He doesn’t remember seeing the body the next morning but that doesn’t mean shit.” He swallows hard and repeats himself. “She’s gone.”

Max stares at him dumbly.

“Gone,” she echoes, like she’s far away or under water.

“He was drunk,” Billy admits. “I don’t - I don’t know.” Max puts a hand over her mouth.

“That doesn’t make any sense. Maybe she’s just at work and we keep missing each other! Or she ran away, some sort of underground tunnel situation!” Max is frozen to the couch but her mouth continues spewing theories.

Billy squeezes her hand gently and she stops talking.

“I’m sorry, Max. I’m so sorry.” He looks guilty and so sad.

“Should we do something?” Jonathan whispers to Nancy, watching the siblings sit on the couch and do their best not to stare as Max’s world crumbles for the second time in as many days. He wishes they would hug, but recognizes they’re not like he and Will even though they’re the same age.

“No,” Nancy picks at her lip until Steve takes her hand in his. “They’re processing.”

“Guess we’re going down to Hawkins,” Steve says.

“You work tomorrow,” Jonathan reminds him. His tone is teasing when he continues, “Guess that means I’m driving.”

Steve huffs a near silent laugh, the sound almost lost in the noise of Max finding the tv remote and flipping channels.

“C’mon,” Nancy tugs at their joined hands and reaches out to push a hand through Jonathan’s hair. “Let’s go watch a movie. Billy’s not gonna be up for anything strenuous anyhow.”

It turns out Nancy’s right, Billy falling asleep before Sara is halfway through the labyrinth. Max follows soon after to no one’s great surprise, even though she was the one to choose the film.

“He shouldn’t stay on the couch,” Steve hisses, even though he makes no move to free himself from where Billy’s drooling on his leg.

Jonathan raises an eyebrow and smirks wide enough that Steve knows he’s stuck until Billy wakes up.

“So Max is gonna stay with you?” Nancy questions quietly, braiding and releasing the same section of Billy’s curls that spill over Steve’s thigh.

“It’s the best option. We were planning to drive her out to California at some point in August, I think. Have to wait and see what school she decides to go to.”

Nancy remembers them talking about this, knows the invitation had been extended to her and Jon, who had turned it down in favor of internships and jobs. “You’ll have fun.”

The day wears on, the three of them staying quiet until Max wakes and then it’s four of them with the quietest game of Monopoly that must have ever been played.

Dinner is three boxes of mac ‘n cheese split between them, the frozen peas finally finding their intended use in the bright orange-yellow sauce. No one says much, all of them looking ahead to the next day of driving and returning to their hometown.

Max’s nightmares don’t wake them up. Jonathan isn’t sure she slept, looking at her the next morning.

“Sleep well?” He asks, pushing his coffee over to her. They’re the first two up, though Steve’s warbling voice can be barely heard over the shower as he gets ready for work.

“Thanks for letting me stay,” Max deflects and spins the mug around in front of her on the table.

“Always, Max.” Jonathan says firmly. “With or without your brother, I hope you know that.”

Max nods and he starts preparing a quick breakfast as Nancy stumbles into the kitchen with a case of bedhead that makes both of them exchange a quick smile.

Nancy looks at Max in the car as Jon drives, both hands on the wheel at ten and two. She’s curled up, knees to her chest. Her face is blank as she stares out the window.

“Doing okay there?” Nancy inquires over the sound of Billy’s snores.

“Fine.” 

Nancy knows that isn’t true, but doesn’t press. “You excited for California? I can’t believe you didn’t apply anywhere in Chicago! They’ve got some very good schools, you know.”

Her lighthearted teasing draws Max out just a little.

“No point in that if I don’t know what I want to study.”

“That’s the best part of college,” Nancy says excitedly. “You can try all different sorts of classes, maybe you have an untapped passion for I don’t know, sculpting! Foreign language!”

“Underwater basket weaving,” Jonathan interjects dryly and it coaxes a smile out of the redhead. “But Nancy’s right, you don’t have to know what you want to study. Not everyone is driven like Nancy Drew here knowing what they want to do, don’t worry about it.”

“I wasn’t,” Max shrugs. “The first two years are mostly gen ed, right? I don’t know how much the guidance counselor was lying, he was no help with applying to colleges outside the great state of Indiana.”

Nancy and Jonathan hasten to assure her that’s true, and that Max will make new friends and the dorms might even be fun even if it won’t be a slumber party every night.

They get closer to their destination with each passing mile marker.

Inside the town limits, Max clams up again. Nancy puts a hand on her shoulder and Max covers it with her own, squeezing tight.

“Hey, Billy.” Jonathan calls softly from outside the car, knowing better than to shake him awake. “You want to help us move some stuff out, or keep resting like the invalid you are?”

“You take that back,” Billy grumbles even as he reaches for Jonathan’s waiting arm to lever himself out of the backseat. “I’ll show you who’s an invalid.”

Max and Nancy leave them be, walking up the front yard and the cracked steps. Nancy’s hand only gets dropped when Max opens the door, seemingly still unlocked from when they fled.

Max enters the house cautiously, even though it’s broad daylight. Her stomach swoops as she steps over the threshold to her bedroom. It looks the same as always, with no trace of that night to be seen.

She isn’t sure if she wanted there to be or not. Someone puts their hand on her shoulder and Max jumps away on rabbit feet, heart pounding.

“Just me,” Nancy says with a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “I thought you might want help packing while Jon gets the heavy things with Billy.”

“What heavy things?” Nancy has already moved on to pull a suitcase from Max’s small closet, setting it on the bed and flipping it open.

“Like my stereo,” Billy answers her, leaning in the doorway. “I paid for it, I’m taking it with me.”

“I didn’t pay for anything except comics,” Max tells him, confused. The feeling in her stomach intensifies, like she’s about to get in trouble. She just doesn’t know who it’ll be from.

“You’re a kid,” Billy waves his hand. “Take it all. The least he owes you.”

“Owes us,” Max juts her chin out, expecting an argument. 

Instead, Billy laughs before he turns away. “Yeah, he really does.”

Then it’s just Max and Nancy in her small bedroom on Cherry Lane, dumping clothes into the suitcase. Well, Max is dumping and Nancy bothers to fold them. Something about they’ll fit better. Max leaves her to it and kneels down to reach under the bed.

The box of things from her dad goes in the suitcase. She doesn’t have much from her mother.

Thinking about her mom makes Max want to cry, so she doesn’t. She thinks about Lucas, smiling sweetly at her and the way El’s eyes widen when she tries something new. Her stomach settles down.

The phone rings and Max darts into the living room to answer it. Her hand hovers above the receiver.

It’s not Neil. There’s no reason he would call his own house in the middle of the day.

Billy picks it up before the last ring. “Hello?”

His face loses some of its tan and he squeezes his eyes shut as he listens to the other end.

“Yeah,” he says. “She’s here. I told her, I didn’t know-” he cuts himself off and holds his ribs like they still pain him. They probably do. Max draws closer, unsure if she wants to hug her older brother or take the phone from him and slam it down since it’s obviously upsetting him.

Billy hands her the phone after some noises of agreement and telling a different phone number to the person on the other end. He smiles at Max, small but hopeful.

“I’ll finish packing, Nancy can figure out your stuff. We should be out of here in the next ten minutes.”

Max takes the phone and holds it to her ear, wary. “Hello?”

“Hi sweetheart,” her mom says tinnily, much to her surprise. Max isn’t proud of the way tears come so fast to her eyes. “How are you doing?”

“Where are you?” Max cries. She takes a step towards the wall and slides down it, pulling her knees up to her chest. The phone stays pressed to her right ear, hard enough to hurt. “I haven’t seen you in so long!”

Max was never demonstrably affectionate with her mom, not even as a little kid. She’s learned over the years that her mom likes hugs and doing fun things with Max’s hair, since it’s longer than her mom’s own. So Max let her and ended up enjoying it.

She would do almost anything now for another hug, or just to see her face.

“I’m somewhere safe, Maxine.” Her mom tells her and Max cries into her knees silently that it’s not _we_. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t take you. I’ve tried calling every weekend, just to hear your voice. It’s really not allowed, but I couldn’t bear the thought of you alone.”

“Then why did you leave me?” Max’s voice might crack, she isn’t sure.

“There wasn’t time, darling.” Her mom says. Max scoffs, waterworks still falling but a familiar anger building in her stomach.

“Time? There was time enough to get out yourself but you left me and Billy here! With him!”

“Billy’s an adult. I knew he would take care of you, protect you.”

“He shouldn’t have to! He needed you! I need you!” Max shouts and it draws the attention of the older three.

“You weren’t here!” Max continues to yell. “You don’t get to call me sweetheart and say you’re sorry! You weren’t here when he-” Max chokes herself off. She drops the phone and it’s a near thing she doesn’t gag.

Billy takes the phone from her as Max turns to Jonathan and Nancy, who stand a few feet away with worry practically emanating from them in a tangible way. They fold her in a three way hug, or maybe it’s more a cuddle as they wrap their arms around her, trapping Max between them.

Billy is speaking quickly, quietly. Max doesn’t want to listen and shuts her eyes like it will help block out of the sound of his voice.

The phone thunks down on the cradle with a final sound.

“Do one more look through your room,” Billy tells her gently when Max doesn’t turn around from the embrace. He sounds exhausted but his hand smoothing over her red hair is gentle. “Then we’ll get out of here, drive over to Steve’s house.”

Max stumbles out of the hug and goes to her room. Her face is damp and her eyes are still hot. She wipes them on the bottom of her shirt, it doesn’t really help.

“Fuck.” Max whispers to herself. Her room is empty in places, like how one bookshelf is cleared off but the posters are still tacked on her wall. Max feels empty herself.

She doesn’t know what comes next but she’ll figure it out.


End file.
